True story of the killer who appeared on a dating show

Netflix film Woman of the Hour’ is based on the life of serial killer Rodney Alcala, a man who was invited on a gameshow for primetime television and won. Words: Annabel Nugent

- Annabel Nugent

In 1978, a serial killer appeared on American television. No disguise. No alias. No remorse, apparently. Rodney Alcala was one of three eligible bachelors to appear on The Dating Game – something like the UK’s Blind Date, in which female contestants quiz single men from behind a partition before choosing one to take out. That night, the serial killer won.

Rodney Alcala was ultimately convicted of murdering seven women and girls in heinous and brutal ways that involved strangulation and rape – but not before he managed to woo contestant Cheryl Bradshaw on live TV. The story of Bradshaw, Alcala, and his victims is the focus of Netflix’s latest true crime endeavour Woman of the Hour, a mostly fictionalised account of the murders, starring Anna Kendrick (in her directorial debut) as Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto as Alcala.

Telling Alcala’s story through the perspective of his victims, the film paints an infuriating and tragic picture of a society that turned a blind eye to a monster in its midst – a tragedy unfolding in slow motion that was preventable every step of the way. Really, it’s a small wonder that Netflix hadn’t adapted this story sooner, so grim and shocking are its details.

Alcala was a fine arts student at UCLA when he first appeared on the police radar, having sexually assaulted eight-year-old Tali Shapiro in September 1968. Shapiro had been walking to school on a sunny day in Hollywood when Alcala approached her in his car, tricking her into getting into the vehicle under the guise of knowing her parents. From there, he drove Shapiro to his apartment, where Alcala said he wanted to show her a “beautiful picture”. Hours later, the police found Shapiro in the kitchen, a puddle of blood around her “white Mary Janes” next to a metal bar the district attorney later said Alcala had used to try to strangle her.